Crawl Space Moisture

Moisture Management & Water Control

Crawl space moisture and water problems cause millions of dollars worth of damage to homes every year. The damage ranges from rusted duct work, mold growth, structure rot, failed heating and cooling systems and poor air quality in the home. This added to standing water in the crawl space could mean more serious problems like a compromised or failing foundation. This damage can be stopped and most importantly prevented.

Crawl space moisture really comes from two sources; the open earth and the foundation vents. The foundation vents were required to help control the moisture that evaporates from the ground. The problem is the foundation vents cause as many issues with moisture in the crawl space as the open earth does.

Like any space inside your home, the area you wish to control must be separate from the outside. Heating or cooling your home with the windows open would be an impossible task and so is moisture control in the crawl space with the foundation vents open. To have any hope of accomplishing moisture control it is critical to have three things; experience, knowledge and the right products. Unfortunately today, lack of experience and knowledge usually gets you the wrong products, and that of course gets you the wrong results.

We know that many problems homeowners have with crawl spaces are only symptoms and not the actual problems. We do understand that those problems are REAL problems to you. Let me explain. Most problems reported by homeowners such as odor, bugs, mold, soft floors or cold floors are really symptoms to the real issues in the crawl space. Take mold for example, yes I would consider it a problem at my house too, but as a professional I have to consider what causes the mold in the first place. That is where we attack the problem. If your home has mold, then to me, your home has a moisture problem. Eliminate the moisture, eliminate the mold. If your home has bugs then your home has a moisture problem and if your home has cold floors then your home has a heat loss problem. We treat crawl spaces like basements, as part of the home, because they are. If they weren’t, then the problems in the crawl space would not be inside your house and you wouldn’t even know about them.